Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles 1 minute less than the package directions indicate, until just underdone. Drain noodles and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While pasta boils, bring milk to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. One ingredient at a time, whisk in the sour cream, softened cream cheese and hot sauce until smooth, stirring constantly. Whisk in the Monterey jack and blue cheeses until melted and well combined. Taste cheese sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Preparation

Remove broccoli florets from stems. Trim ends of stems and peel with a vegetable peeler, then shred in a food processor using the coarse grater disk — or finely chop. Chop florets into small pieces.

In a large bowl, combine shredded/chopped broccoli, cherries and shallot.

In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and a generous quantity of freshly ground pepper. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if needed. Allow to sit 30 minutes (or an hour in the fridge) so flavors can mingle. Fold in toasted almonds just before serving.

Note: You may wish to make this recipe simpler by using a bag of pre-shredded broccoli slaw.

Ingredients

Preparation

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 15 minutes. Total time: 25 minutes.

Microwave dates about 20 seconds or soak in warm water to soften. Add dates to work bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until small bits remain. Add banana and peanut butter and pulse again until combined, scraping down sides as needed. Next, add the almond meal, rolled oats and salt and pulse until loose dough is formed.

Scrape dough into a mixing bowl. Add ½ cup of optional mix-ins of your choice. Chill dough 20 minutes or up to overnight. If, after chilling, the dough feels very wet to the touch or is too loose to form into balls, add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of almond meal.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Scoop out tablespoons of dough and form into loose discs, then arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown at the edges and somewhat firm to the touch. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Serving immediately or store in airtight container in refrigerator up to a week.